The best sports memes of 2021

When you’ve ever taken greater than a time without work from checking social media, you would possibly really feel such as you missed a 12 months’s value of tales and memes. Returning to the timeline can really feel like making an attempt to study a overseas language, working backwards to grasp the compounding references and jokes.

As perpetually on-line sports activities followers, we’re right here to assist out. We’ve handpicked our favourite moments and memes from every month of 2021 to recap a wild 12 months in sports activities.

January: James Harden instantly slims down after being traded

2021 started with a bang when James Harden was traded to the Brooklyn Nets after the celebrity’s relationship with the Houston Rockets deteriorated. Between apathetic play and a common disrespect for optics, Harden appeared at video games all through the start of the 2020-21 season trying, effectively, chunky. It appeared like each Rockets recreation resulted in a brand new screenshot the place he appeared extra out of form than the final.

Ultimately Harden was traded in a four-team blockbuster on Jan. 14. Two days later he made his debut with the Nets trying svelte and energetic as he dropped 32 factors and 14 assists in a win over the Magic. It solely fueled extra jokes because the web in contrast the pictures of outdated Harden and new Harden side-by-side.

February: Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka rematch

When Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka met within the 2021 Australian Open, it was the primary time the 2 had performed one another in a event setting since their controversial, traditional match on the 2018 U.S. Open.

All through the Australian Open, Osaka continued to show why she’s the game’s present undisputed star, dominating her opponents when she wasn’t gently handling butterflies mid-match. The rematch with Williams within the semifinal was such a full-circle second it nearly felt scripted. It was among the best moments in sports activities of the 12 months, interval.

March: Candace Parker schooled Shaq on ‘Contained in the NBA’

Shaquille O’Neal had a tough time on “Contained in the NBA” to start out the 12 months. The Corridor of Fame middle got called a ‘casual’ by Christian Wood for not realizing who he was. He called Nikola Jokic ‘Russian’ when he’s actually Serbian. Then he harshly criticized Donovan Mitchell on dwell TV, resulting in a particularly awkward second.

Throughout a dialogue on Jokic (who can be named the league’s MVP just a few months later), Shaq failed to grasp how the sport of basketball has modified since his retirement, and was promptly owned by Candace Parker, a second that was considered practically two million instances as Twitter indulged within the schadenfreude.

April: Invoice Belichick’s canine is the star of the NFL Draft as soon as once more

The most effective second of the remotely-held 2020 NFL Draft was Bill Belichick’s dog Nike showing to handle the Patriots affairs throughout a cutaway shot. This 12 months, everybody had enjoyable working with the joke because the Patriots made their picks, together with the Patriots themselves as Nike made a guest appearance to help Belichick decide within the seventh spherical.

New England had the final snort, nonetheless, as Jones not solely seems to be like a possible Rookie of the Yr, however has the Patriots atop the AFC and rolling.

Could: LeBron’s “three rims” play-in recreation winner is the primary meme of the NBA playoffs

Because the mud settled on the 2020-21 common season, it appeared nearly too good to be true that the league’s two hottest groups would face off in a winner-take-all play-in recreation. However that’s precisely what occurred as LeBron James and the Lakers confronted off in opposition to Steph Curry’s Warriors.

The sport was immensely entertaining as LeBron hit a prayer from the Staples Middle emblem with a minute remaining to ship LA to the playoffs. Simply minutes prior, LeBron was poked within the eye by Draymond Inexperienced, and after the sport mentioned he noticed “three rims” as he pulled up for the sport winner and “aimed for the center one.” The three rims remark, in addition to LeBron’s response after Draymond’s foul grew to become prompt meme-fodder.

June: “Suns in 4” man turns into the hero of Phoenix’s playoff run

Because the Phoenix Suns ripped via the powers of the Western Convention en path to the NBA Finals, one hero emerged through the workforce’s second spherical collection in opposition to the Denver Nuggets.

Close to the top of Recreation 3 between Denver and Phoenix, a combat broke out between followers of the opposing groups. In a video that racked up over 8 million views on Twitter, a Suns fan is seen simply dispatching two Nuggets followers whereas yelling “Suns in 4” between blows. He immediately grew to become an icon of the workforce’s phenomenal season, and Devin Booker even reached out and gave him an autographed jersey and Western Convention Finals tickets.

July: Baseball glove automobile on the Olympics steals the present

A 12 months late, the 2020/1 Tokyo Olympics lastly passed off over the Summer season. And whereas there have been loads of moments all through the video games to focus on, our private favourite was this lovely little GLOVE CAR designed by Toyota particularly for Olympic baseball.

Every thing about it, from the glove seat, to the mini turf diamond flooring, to the entrance display screen displaying “GO! GO!” is simply lovely. It was a superbly acceptable second for one of many strangest Olympics ever.

August: Bishop Sycamore scams their method onto ESPN

An innocuous highschool soccer recreation broadcast on ESPN in August ended up being one of many greatest sports activities scandals of the 12 months when Bishop Sycamore, an unknown faculty out of Ohio, appeared utterly outmatched in a 58-0 blowout in opposition to IMG Academy in entrance of a nationwide viewers.

It didn’t take lengthy for the reality to come back out: Bishop Sycamore appeared to be an imaginary faculty created solely to get their identify on TV and let their athletes get beat down for publicity. It was utterly outlandish, and as extra absurd details concerning the faculty got here out, it solely fueled the meme hearth extra.

September: The Manningcast is a success, Eli flips off America

ESPN experimented with a brand new broadcast format for the 2021 NFL season, that includes the Brothers Manning on choose Monday Night time Soccer video games on ESPN2, the place they broke down gameplay, interviewed a various forged of company, and customarily goofed round. It was an prompt hit, and among the best moments got here in Week 3 when Eli Manning tried to show his expertise with Philadelphia Eagles followers, flipping off America with each center fingers. His fast apology following the following business break made it all of the extra hilarious. By no means apologize, Eli.

October: BING BONG

October’s meme was a fruits of a number of forces at work. 1) The start of a brand new NBA season. 2) The New York Knicks, perennial underachievers, received a double extra time thriller in opposition to the Celtics on opening night time. 3) A person-on-the-street social media present known as SidetalkNYC exploded in reputation on Twitter and TikTok with weird movies of individuals round New York Metropolis.

Sidetalk was outdoors Madison Sq. Backyard after the season opening win, and captured a scene of hilarious chaos as Knicks followers overreacted to their workforce’s success. Amongst dozens of quotable moments, a person yelling “BING BONG” grew to become a motto for the Knicks, and a simple method for opposing followers to troll them because the Knicks fell again all the way down to Earth over the following months.

November: LeBron James has a clone

Noticed within the background of a Lakers recreation in November was a person who appeared suspiciously like LeBron James having fun with a bucket of popcorn. The web was immediately perplexed. Is King James a time traveller? Is that this a Looper scenario? Has he been a twin all alongside?

The reality is far much less attention-grabbing: the person pictured courtside was Patrick Christopher, a former NBA participant and present designer who is definitely an acquaintance of James’. As everybody received their jokes off, LeBron couldn’t assist however take part.

December: Kevin Durant will get method up in Trae Younger’s enterprise

In a mid-December battle between the Nets and Hawks, issues received heated between stars Kevin Durant and Trae Younger. Late within the fourth quarter the 2 needed to be separated and exchanged phrases after Durant pushed Younger coming round a display screen.

Durant then tried to get into Younger’s head by taking part in protection a bit of too shut. The one factor it appeared to perform was making Durant appear to be a little bit of a weirdo to these watching at residence.

No arduous emotions had been had, as KD mentioned after the sport: “He needed to get me out of his area and I perceive that … That’s the spirit of the sport. I’ve received nothing however respect for Trae Younger,” and Younger responded with a Tweet saying “Idols change into rivals.”